Eternal Flame

If you have ever wondered what sort of torture someone endures I have two things to say to you. First, you are obviously disturbed and secondly, I now know what sort of torture it is. It's the simple things that really get you. All they have to do is lock you alone inside a bedroom in a small cottage for two weeks. Torture beyond belief. Okay so maybe I was overreacting. But not by much because I had also been cut off of every form of technology. My dad was seriously going way overboard with this punishment. He even took away my electric razor and got me those disposable ones. Ridiculous. More important than my razor, was my cell phone. My portal to Jacob Black. Man, I missed Jake. It had seemed like forever since I had seen him. And that's how I knew I wasn't going to possibly be able to survive these two weeks. Because I was already this far gone.

It had only been two days.

I suppose I wasn't exactly alone. My family were taking turns to come visit me. Well, except for Jasper. My Dad didn't want him using his gift to make me feel better about my punishment. Like I said, completely overboard. Alice had promised to come by every day and her visits usually consisted of her plotting to take me shopping the second my time was up so that we could make up for the major dent in my wardrobe. Rosalie came by yesterday and brought me twenty different fashion magazines, telling me to keep an eye out for anything I liked.

Grandma had snuck me some homemade cookies that were to die for and grandpa brought me some books he thought I might enjoy. Emmett was probably biding his time, so that by the time he came to visit I would be half insane already and his tormenting would be twice as much fun for him.

But still…Jake. He had tried to come and see me. But Dad was like patrolling the house. Whenever he heard Jake's mind coming anywhere near the cottage he would send Uncle Emmett to go and make Jake leave. I don't know what my parents had said to Jake, but I knew they had talked to him yesterday and I was more than a little worried about what they had said to him.

"Hey, Nessie!" I heard Emmett call from behind me. I sighed. And so the torture continues. I turned to see him smiling hugely at me. I grimaced in return. "I guess," he continued, "you really are the Loc Ness Monster today, locked up in here and all."

"Hilarious, Emmett," I muttered.

"Aw, Nessie, you need some serious cheering up. Like rock climbing or paint balling or kick boxing, you liked that when I took you last time, or maybe…"

"Wow, Emmett, you are totally helping me feel better by telling me all the awesome things I can't do." I replied.

He smiled, "hey, it's not my fault you're stuck in here… You didn't see me wearing a ridiculously tiny bikini."

I looked at him for a few seconds and then I couldn't help it anymore. The mental picture was just too much too bear. I burst out laughing.

His smile grew. "There's the Nessie I know."

Emmett smiled evilly. "Which is why I brought you a present." He ran out into the hall and came back with two paintball guns.

"Um… Emmett? What are we going to do with paintball guns…in my room?" I asked nervously as I glanced around at my lavender walls.

"Open up your window," was his only response.

I raised an eyebrow, but did as he asked.

"Okay," he said, as he pointed his gun out the window, demonstrating. "I bet a can hit a tree farther away than you can hit."

I laughed and picked up the other gun. When we were done at least fifty trees had huge orange marks from Uncle Emmett's paintball gun or huge purple marks from mine. He had beat me, but what else was expected?

"Thanks, Em" I said as I looked over our… artwork. "That was just the sort of thing I needed." He picked me up in one of his famous bear hugs. "No problem, Ness." He put me down and sighed. "Well, I better go now. We're all going hunting tonight and I don't want to keep them all waiting."

"Okay," I grumbled. "I wish I could go."

"Well, those are the breaks, kid. I'm not your prison guard. Talk to him."

I sighed. "I won't even waste my time."

I watched Emmett and the rest of my family run North to hunt until they were out of my sight. I tried my doorknob without hope to find…that it had indeed been locked from the outside. I sat on my bed and leafed through the magazines in my room.

Plink.

What was that? It sounded like something hitting my window.

Plink.

I walked over to my window and sure enough Jacob was standing outside with a handful of pebbles.

"Jake!" I exclaimed.

"Hey, Ness! Can you come down?" he asked with a smile that sent my heart flying.

"I wish. I'm locked up like a prisoner. Dad's a little prone to overreaction, you see," I said with a frown. Jake was so close…

He looked around at the trees by the side of my house. "Well then. I'll just have to climb up to you."

He climbed the pine tree next to my room with ease and I hurried to open the window. Next moment we were hugging like we hadn't seen each other in months.

"Uh, Ness? What's with the trees? Why are they orange and purple?" he asked with an amused smile.

I opened my mouth to answer, but suddenly Jake said, "Crap! Why are they coming back?"

I paused and then it hit me.

"Because," I explained, "my parents asked Alice to check on me, via my future, because even though she can't see it well, the closer I come to being full-grown the clearer it becomes. Its almost normal for her now. My dad must have been reading her thoughts and when she saw that my future had disappeared completely, he must have seen it too. They know you're here."

Just as I finished my Dad's voice thundered, "Jacob Black, you cannot run far enough to get away from my anger right now!"

"I guess I should go," Jake said, figuring that I would respond the same way I did two days ago, shoving him out the door. But I wasn't thinking like that today. I had put up with my Dad's overreaction for long enough, thank you very much.

"No, Jake. Give me a second." I went for the door and turned the knob before remembering that it was locked. "Jake, could you…?" I asked, motioning towards the door. Without answering Jake kicked the door down for me.

I ran downstairs and went out to meet my Dad.

"Renesmee," he started. "I cannot believe—"

But I cut him off. "How much you're overreacting? How you're taking this out of proportion? How you're making a huge deal out of next to nothing? How the only thing you are accomplishing is pissing me—"

He cut me off too. "Nessie, you're right."

I am? "I mean, I am and its time you start treating me as more of an adult. I said the…dress code malfunction…was a mistake. A stupid mistake. I said I wouldn't do it again. So trust me and stop with this ridiculous punishment." I took a few deep breaths. "Please," I added.

"Okay, Nessie. I guess I do need to treat you as more of an adult. I'm sorry. I have been overreacting and I guess that two days of me overreacting is equal to a two week grounding. You're off the hook."

I felt like I had won too easily. Dad answered my thoughts. "Nessie, I don't want to push you away. I hate upsetting you. Well, that and you are right in this instance. My overreactions are well known."

"Thanks, Dad," I said as I gave him a hug.

"So, Nessie's not grounded anymore?" Jake asked.

Dad turned to him. "As for you, Jacob Black, the next time I catch you sneaking into my house I will act first and ask questions later. I do believe that you might remember one of my threat from a few years ago. 'You'll be running around with three legs, dog.' I bet you couldn't climb the tree by Renesmee's window with only three limbs."

Jake looked like he was considering. "Nah," he said. "I think I could do it."